Star Trek Falcon Episode 101.4 - Spread your wings

Title: Star Trek Falcon – Episode one: Spread your wings

Rating: Fiction K+

Chapter: 4 of 10

Summary:

Captain Danielle Dolch has just received her first command, the newly upgraded USS Falcon. While the last few updates and tests are being conducted she and her crew arrive at the space doc for their mission of exploration near the Neutral zone.

Disclaimer: The Star Trek universe belongs to paramount pictures, I’m just borrowing it and using it as a playground.

Author Note:

This chapter was originally the second chapter of this episode, but I just felt like there would be more interesting to go with Emma and Mick first for two chapters to establish the relationship between them a little more before the story goes on. Also, this is a really fast update after the last chapter because part of this chapter has been written earlier. I would like to make it a habit to update so fast, but I’m afraid I won’t be able to write that fast in the future. Besides, my neglected Arrow fanfiction really needs some attention.

Anyway, as always I welcome any comments, tips or ideas for later chapters. Enjoy this next chapter.

Chapter 4 – What to expect

The halls of the USS Falcon were deserted as Danielle made her way to the bridge. Somehow she could appreciate the quiet and peaceful atmosphere of a ship during the period of docking and preparing for a new mission.

The USS Falcon was an older ship in the fleet, but during the last couple of months it had been upgraded to meet the requirements for its upcoming mission near the neutral zone. Although nobody expected trouble with the Romulans some admiral higher up had ruled that it wouldn’t hurt to fit the Falcon with a brand new weapons array and state of the art sensor equipment, just in case. When Danielle had learned that the Admiral in question had been the former captain of the USS Falcon, she couldn’t help but to smile. She would have done the same thing.

As she continued down the hall her train of thought was interrupted by agitated voices coming from the hallway leading to the Armory. Danielle hesitated, the Bridge was the other way. If there was something going on in the Armory that she ought to know about she trusted her staff to contact her. After all, she had selected them with great care. On the other hand, the bridge would manage without her and a slight detour couldn’t hurt. Curiosity got the better of her and she changed direction towards the Armory.

In the Armory she found her Chief Tactical Officer and Armory Officer arguing loudly. “I could be mistaken off course, but I believe I was assigned as Chief Tactical Officer aboard this vessel. You might as well leave tactical decisions to me, Caranore.”

“I would leave tactical decisions to you Marchant, if you were making tactical decisions that wouldn’t potentially threaten the ship.”

“Oh nonsense!” Marchant screeched in her high pitched voice and British accent.

Caranore grinned at her. “Is it now? It’s like the torpedoes all over again. I don’t need to remind you who turned out to be right, right?” Caranore paused for a moment as Marchant gave him an annoyed look. “Who made you Chief Tactical Officer anyway?” He asked.

Danielle cleared her throat, if this wasn’t her cue she didn’t know what was. “That, Lieutenant, would be me.” Marchant almost jumped to attention while Caranore swirled around. He opened his mouth to say something but Danielle put up a hand to silence him. “Lieutenant, I’d like you to take a moment to reconsider the remark you’re about to make and keep in mind that I am the Captain of this vessel.”

Caranore closed his mouth, caught off guard he blinked. “How did you know?” Danielle smiled at her Armory Officer.

“What can I say? I have a brother like you.” She looked at her two senior officers. “Now, what seems to be the problem?”

“We have a disagreement over where the phasers should be stored.” Marchant gave Caranore an angry glare, but he seemed unimpressed.

Danielle looked from one to the other, they had to be kidding. “Don’t we have protocols for that sort of thing?” She asked.

“Yes, we do.” Caranore answered in a dry tone. “Protocol states phasers should be stored in the Armory and distributed as needed when needed.” He smirked at Marchant. “And seeing we’re currently safely docked I’d say we don’t need phasers distributed all over the ship.” He paused. “Just imagine what trigger happy Tactical officers might cook up while being bored.” He added in a low voice.

Marchant rolled her eyes. “You left out the part of the protocol where the Chief Tactical Officer, a.k.a. me, gets to decide what ‘distributed as needed when needed’ means.”

Danielle suddenly had the feeling she was a kindergarten teacher trying to resolve a fight between two five-year-olds instead of a starship captain. She gave her officers a skeptic look. “Seriously? Is this what I can expect of the two of you for the rest of the mission? Don’t you have anything better to do than argue over when, how or where the phasers should or should not be stored?” Marchant looked at the tips of her shoes while Caranore just kept staring straight ahead, neither of them seemed interested in looking their captain in the eye. “That’s what I though.” Danielle concluded. “Carry on.” She nodded her head and turned to leave the Armory.

As the doors of the armory slit shut behind her she could hear the discussion between her two officers continue in lowered voices. Although she knew she shouldn’t she couldn’t help but to smile. One was even more stubborn than the other but she was quite sure they were evenly matched and eventually they’d settle on what would be the best for the ship. Might take a while, but they would get there.

Without further incident she reached the turbo lifts. As she entered she heard footsteps quickening as they approached. “Hold it for me, would you?” Danielle turned around to find Ensign Spinn running towards her. He was a short, slightly chubby guy who looked in no way like the pilot he was. Danielle patiently waited for him to make it to the lift before ordering it to the bridge of the Falcon. Spinn caught his breath. “Thanks” He managed between breaths.

“No problem.” Danielle looked at her most talented helmsman in a slightly amused manner. “Just out of curiosity, when was the last time you worked out?” She asked. The lifts halted on the first deck and Spinn pulled his uniform in place before the doors opened.

“I walked here, didn’t I?” He stepped out onto the bridge and headed towards the helm.

The bridge of the USS Falcon was unlike any other bridge in Starfleet. Due to the recent upgrades it had this beautiful mix of old design and state of the art equipment. Most stations had been upgraded, but others seemed to be left untouched. In the center was only one captain’s chair, which was currently occupied by her first officer.

Edward Hays was a tall, slender man with brown hair and dark blue eyes. Rumor had it he had Vulcan blood somewhere down the line, but nobody had ever dared to ask. He got to his feet as soon as he noticed Danielle had arrived on the bridge. “Captain, what a pleasant surprise, I thought you were off duty. What can I do for you?” He greeted her.

“Nothing in particular Commander, I thought I’d check on how things are up here before calling it a day.”  She paused and looked around. “Did anything happen today I ought to know about?”

Hays shook his head. “No, I’m afraid it has been an uneventful day.” He took a glance at the viewing screen. “Unsurprising seeing we are still docked.” He added in a matter-of-fact tone.

Danielle followed his gaze. The screen was currently showing the docking port bursting with activity. She nodded slowly, even she had to admit she was ready for some action. A wish she was afraid she’d come to regret. “Well, by tomorrow that screen is going to show us nothing more than stars flashing by. Let’s just be patient and enjoy the peace and quiet for now.” She smiled as Hays raised an eyebrow at her. “Before you know it you’ll find yourself longing back for it.”

“Somehow Captain, I doubt that.” He replied. He had a skeptic look on his face that didn’t escape Danielle. “It’s only a mission of exploration.”

“I know Commander, but you never really know.” She took a quick glance at the rest of the bridge. Everything seemed to be in order. Not that she had expected anything else, but still. “Well, you seem to have anything under control here. If anything comes up, don’t hesitate to call.”

“Will do Captain. Goodnight.”

“Goodnight Commander.”

Star Trek Falcon Episode 101.3 - Spread your wings

Title: Star Trek Falcon – Episode one: Spread your wings

Chapter: 3 of 10

Rating: Fiction K+

Summary:

Captain Danielle Dolch has just received her first command, the newly upgraded USS Falcon. While the last few updates and tests are being conducted she and her crew arrive at the space doc for their mission of exploration near the Neutral zone.

Disclaimer: The Star Trek universe belongs to paramount pictures; I’m just borrowing it and using it as a playground.

Author Note:

This chapter took me a while to write. I kept getting stuck with the interaction between characters. It just wasn't quite what I had in mind, but I'm happy with what I got down. There was also some delay because halfway through this chapter I realized I hadn't really thought about the ships layout just yet. Over all I'm quite happy with this chapter. I hope you enjoy. As always: feedback, corrections (in spelling/grammar or consistency of the story) and any other thoughts on this chapter are more than welcome. Thank you for reading and don't forget to leave me a comment! 

Chapter three – Hello there stranger

Unlike the rest of the ship the Engineering deck was already buzzing with life. The last 4 weeks Mick had spend most of his time on the Falcon supervising the upgrades carried out by the engineers from space dock. Although his presence on the ship wasn’t required yet, and often thought of as a little nosy, Mick rather spend his time getting familiar with the ships systems than going down to earth to visit home. Technically he was allowed to go on shore leave between his assignments but other than the 4 days he spend with his parents and sisters he hadn’t taken any days off. Earth simply had nothing to offer for him.

“Hey Mick, got a minute?”

Mick closed the panel he had been working on and looked up at his second in command. “What is it Kevin?”

Kevin folded his hands behind his back. It reminded Mick of the time he taught at the academy. Thank god those days were behind them now, if anything it had only damaged their friendship. “I was just wondering if you were on a schedule with the upgrades and diagnostics and if so, where I could find a copy of that schedule.”

“Right, schedule.” Mick hated to admit he didn’t have one. Or at least, he hadn’t the taken the time to formally write it down. So far it hadn’t been a problem. The engineering crew of the Falcon was still on leave for the most part and formally speaking he didn’t have anything to do with the crew from space dock. So the schedule hadn’t been needed, until now. “You can request a schedule for the upgrades from Lieutenant Commander Lauer. He’s responsible for the upgrades to the ship.” Mick paused. “Don’t forget to check your authorization code though. Apparently everything concerning upgrades to the Falcon is classified.” Kevin threw him a questioning look. Mick shook his head. “Don’t ask.”

Kevin raised an eyebrow but didn’t ask about what happened. Mick was thankful he didn’t, it was a long story and he figured the less people knew the better. “So how about the schedule for the diagnostics?” Kevin inquired.

“I’ll get that to you as soon as I wrote it down.” Mick ignored the look Kevin was giving him, he knew he’d disapprove but he didn’t particularly care. “Anything else Lieutenant?” He picked up the data pad he left next to the control panel to see what was next on his to do list.

“Yeah, there’s a pretty lady waiting for you in your office.”

Mick looked up from his pad. He wasn’t sure if he had heard Kevin correctly. “There’s a pretty lady waiting for me in my office?” Mick repeated what he thought he had heard. He couldn’t think of anybody wanting to visit him right now, let alone a woman who could be described as a pretty lady. Unless of course Kevin was just being funny and was referring to Dani, although Mick really couldn’t think of a reason why she’d come down to see him. As far as he knew, he hadn’t done anything that could get him into trouble the last couple of days. Of course, experience told him he didn’t always see trouble coming.

“Yeah, I didn’t really get it either.” Kevin grinned at his own joke. “But all joking aside, she asked if you had time to see her.”

Mick nodded. Although he had enough to do until the upgrades would be finished in a few hours he was pretty sure he could take a few minutes to talk to whoever came to see him. “Did you catch a name?”

Kevin shrugged. “I think it was Zinn or something like that.”

“Zinck maybe? Emma Zinck?”

Kevin thought for a moment and then he nodded slowly. “Yeah, Zinck, I think that was it.” Mick smiled, he was really looking forward to see Emma again. It really had been too long since they spoke. “So who’s she?”

Mick looked at Kevin. “Emma is a friend of mine. She’s been assigned as Science Officer. We haven’t seen each other in a while.”

Kevin grinned at him. “Well you friend is very pretty.” Mick didn’t miss the emphasis Kevin put on the word friend. It was kind of annoying how everybody seemed to think there was something going on between them. Emma really was just a friend. Of course, when they had just met Mick had hoped it could be something more, but since nothing happened he had settled for being friends.

“Well Kev, I’ve got a friend who is waiting for me in my office so if you’ll excuse me.” Mick couldn’t resist stressing the word friend as well as he waited for Kevin to move out of his way. Kevin stepped aside with an amused grin on his face.

“You two have fun!” He called after his commanding officer as he walked away.

“Shut up Kev!” Mick called over his shoulder as he climbed the stairs to the upper deck of Engineering.

Engineering was divided over decks D and E. Mick’s office was located on the upper deck of the engineering department, near the turbo lifts with a great view of the lower Engineering deck. Mick hadn’t used his office all that much yet but he figured that once he had reports to write, read and sign he’d be thankful for a quiet place to work. He didn’t usually admit to it but he was horribly easy to distract, especially from mind dulling activities such as writing, reading or signing reports. Mick considered himself a hands on engineer, with no ambitious whatsoever to move any further up the chain of command.

He found Emma already waiting inside his office. Her face lit up as he closed the door behind him. He simply smiled back. “Hello there stranger!” She greeted him before giving him a hug.

“Has it been that long?”

“Yes! I was so excited when I found out you were assigned to the USS Falcon too!” She beamed at him. Mick instantly remembered why he liked her so much, she was the most cheery and happy person he had ever come across. It was really quite a contrast with his gloomy and sarcastic personality, but it worked and he didn’t complain.

“Yeah, it was a great surprise.” That really was a lie. He basically bullied his sister into giving Emma the job, but that was something she didn’t really need to know. “And now look at you, the Science Officer. Congratulations.”

“I know! Can you believe it?”

“As a matter of fact I can, you’re very talented. I still don’t get why you didn’t get an assignment on a starship before.”

“Flattery will get you anywhere, Commander.” She gently touched the stripes on his uniform. Mick had received his promotion with his new assignment as Chief Engineer. He wasn’t quite sure what to think of it. The next promotion would force him out of Engineering and onto the Bridge, which was his least favorite part of the ship. He liked his new paycheck though and for now, Engineering was his personal playground. “We have a lot of catching up to do.”

Mick nodded in agreement. “How about we have dinner together after I get off?”

She smiled. “I’d like that. What time do you get off?”

“Somewhere around six. I can pick you up around 6:30.”

“That will be a huge detour to the mess hall. I propose we meet here, or at your quarters, or errr, the mess hall. Wherever is convenient for you.” She looked away as brushed her hair out of her face. Mick looked at her in amusement.

“Convenient would be my quarters. It’s basically around the corner from here.”

“Oh, that is convenient! Is it a coincidence?”

“Actually, it is.” Emma threw him a look. “What? It really was. I didn’t even fill in any requests. I figured that after my last assigned quarters, I could get used to anything.” On the Unicorn his quarters had been the worst ever. It was almost like it was far away from everything else on the ship. It had taken Mick months to get used to the time it took to get to Engineering.

Emma smiled at him. “Well, glad to hear you have better quarters this time.”

There was a loud and fast knock on the door. Before Mick could even look up the door slid open. “Commander Dolch, Lieutenant Wildt told me you’d be in here and...” The blue eyed whirlwind who just entered the office stopped dead in his tracks when he saw Emma. There was an awkward silence. “Am I interrupting something?” He finally asked, looking from Mick to Emma and back as he lowered the pad he was holding. “I could come in later if this isn’t a good time.”  

Mick did his best not to laugh. In the doorway was Paul Duval, one of the engineers he had requested for the Falcon. He was a young and brilliant engineer, but he really was a hand full most of the time. “No, Emma was about to leave, right Emma?”

She threw him a quick look and then smiled. “Yes, I was. I’ll see you tonight.” Paul quickly stepped aside so she could leave the office. In the door opening she turned around. “What were your quarters again?”

“Oh right, D226.” He smiled at her. “See you tonight.”

She flashed a quick smile over her shoulder as she headed down the hall towards the crew quarters. Paul cleared his throat. “Do you want me to come back later Sir?”

Mick turned his attention back to the engineer. “No, that’s fine. What is it?”

“I was wondering if you could use a hand for the rest of the shift. I just arrived today, I even think I was on the same shuttle as she was.” Paul seemed to think for a moment before continuing. “Anyway, I don’t feel like doing nothing the rest of the day so I came here. Lieutenant Wildt said you were in your office, he didn’t mention you had company though.”

Of course Kevin didn’t. “Well, Paul. Next time you go through the trouble of knocking, you might as well wait for an answer.”

Paul threw Mick a sheepish look. “Yeah, that makes sense.” He played with the pad he was holding for a moment.

“I’d appreciate that. Now, something for you to do.” Mick trailed off as he carefully considered his options. He had some routine performance checks that needed to be done, but it probably wasn’t a good idea to give Paul a routine task. Paul was easily distracted from anything that wasn’t challenging enough and Mick didn’t feel like double checking everything. “You know what, go see if Lieutenant Lauer can use your help with the upgrades. He’s down stairs with his crew. I can handle the rest with Lieutenant Wildt.” Paul seemed to be a little disappointed. “Thanks anyway Paul, I appreciate you coming to help.”

Paul just nodded and without saying another word he took off again, almost slamming into the door when it wouldn’t open fast enough. Mick shook his head as he watched Paul bounce down the stairs to the lower engineering deck.

The door slid close again and Mick sat down at his desk. He took a fast look at his pad. “Right, schedules.” He mumbled to himself as he got ready to start his first paperwork for this mission.

Star Trek Falcon Episode 101.2 - Spread your wings

Title: Star Trek Falcon – Episode one: Spread your wings
Chapter: 2 of 10

Rating: Fiction K+

Summary:

Captain Danielle Dolch has just received her first command, the newly upgraded USS Falcon. While the last few updates and tests are being conducted she and her crew arrive at the space doc for their mission of exploration near the Neutral zone.

Disclaimer: The Star Trek universe belongs to paramount pictures; I’m just borrowing it and using it as a playground.

Author Note:

Wow, it’s been a while since I had time for my fanfictions. I’ve been so busy lately I didn’t have any time to be at my computer, let alone write anything. Thankfully I have more spare time now so I’ll be picking up where I left off. Please note (for the people who read the first chapter a while ago) that I’ve changed the name of the Captain to Danielle (Dani) Dolch, somehow it seemed more fitting. As always I’d really appreciate it if you left a comment after you’re done reading. Constructive criticism is always welcome as well as ideas for later chapters and episodes.  

Chapter two - Flight to the Falcon

Emma still couldn’t believe she had been selected to serve aboard a vessel of exploration like the USS Falcon, let alone she’d be selected to be the Science Officer. An inexperienced Ensign like herself on the senior staff, wow, she just didn’t have words for it.

She had read the message over and over again, not quite believing what it said. She had always wanted to serve on a starship. As a matter of fact, it had been the main reason why she had joined Starfleet after she graduated from high school. But she had imagined starting out as a member of the science department, not as the head of it. When she had called Captain Dolch she still half expected it to be a prank pulled on her by one of her friends, but it wasn’t. She accepted her assignment shortly after meeting with the Captain.

For weeks she felt like she was walking on sunshine. She had told anybody who would or wouldn’t listen about her new assignment. She was quite sure she had driven her roommate mad as well as her colleagues, but shutting up about it had proven to be too much for her. So she had happily rambled on. It even became worse after she received details on her assignment. She was to investigate a small M-class planet near the Neutral Zone. The goal was to determine whether it would be suitable for establishing a colony. She couldn’t have been more pleased, Geology was her field of expertise after all.

Another pleasant surprise presented itself later that week when she received the list of crewmembers who were assigned to the USS Falcon. When she scanned the list for familiar names she discovered Mick Dolch was the newly appointed Chief Engineer. She had worked with the handsome engineer when she was temporary assigned to a research expedition. They had required assistance from a nearby Starfleet vessel when the cold had affected their systems. Mick had been part of the away team that came to their rescue. The two of them had immediately hit it off and she had felt sorry when he had to leave. She hadn’t expected to ever see him again. After all, the universe was a big place.

Now she found herself waiting for the shuttle that would bring her to the USS Falcon. Due to upgrades to the ship the transporters would be off line the whole week prior to departure, giving the crew the rare opportunity to take a shuttle to board the ship. Emma had been told the view was amazing so she hoped for a window seat. She smiled briefly at a flight attendant who passed her on his way to the gate. It probably wouldn’t be much longer now.

“Attention please, this is a call for Ensign Zinck of the USS Falcon. Please report to gate four immediately. I repeat, Ensign Zinck, please report to gate four.”

It took a few seconds for the message to sink in, but when it finally hit her she bolted to her feet. “Oh shoot!” The flight attendant who had just passed her looked up. Emma threw him a hasty look as she collected her things. “Wrong gate!” She exclaimed before she hurried off to the other side of the space station.

As she tried to speed up her pace she wondered what she had been thinking when she decided to wear heels that morning. With every few steps she took she tripped over her own feet. It wasn’t exactly contributing to the elegant image she had been aiming for. After a near collision with a plant she decided it had been enough and she stopped to take off her heels. At least she could actually run now.

When gate four finally came into view the man who made the final boarding call was getting ready to close the doors. Emma quickened her pace again. “Please wait!” She called out to him from the end of the hall. He looked up and watched with amusement as she came closer. Emma felt slightly embarrassed but did her best not to be too obvious about it. She slowed down and straightened her back. “Thank you.” She tried to brush her hair away from her sticky forehead but it didn’t really make any difference.

“Ensign Zinck I assume?” Emma studied the man closely. He had vivid blue eyes and half long curly blond hair. He was kind of short. Even on bare foot Emma easily had a few inches on him. She extended her hand.  “I’m so sorry.” She apologized, “I was at the wrong gate.”

 “No problem, could happen to anybody.” His handshake was firm, but not too much. “I’m Ensign Spinn, Helm Officer.” Emma smiled as she let go of Spinns hand. “I’m pleased to meet you.” She paused to look around. “Am I the only one who’s late?”

“I wouldn’t worry about that really, I waited half an hour for the Captain and the First Officer when they were boarding the Falcon. Fortunately they came to the right gate, otherwise it could’ve easily been hours.” Emma was unsure whether he was joking or not but laughed anyway, it was something about the way he described the scene. She could totally picture the captain running around the space station with her First Officer right behind her, just like Emma had done just moments ago. For some reason though, she pictured them still wearing their shoes. Speaking of which, Emma still wasn’t wearing any. She put her bags down and steadied herself to put her right shoe back on.

“All things considered” Spinn continued as Emma sought support of the wall while she stepped back into her other shoe. “I’ll be happy when Commander Dolch gets the transporters back online. I’m sick of being a bus driver.” Spinn held open the door to the gate. Emma picked up her bags again and nodded her thanks as she entered the gate. Spinn closed the doors behind her and followed her to the shuttle.

The shuttle was a slightly older model belonging to the USS Falcon. The interior was a little worn down, but for some reason it seemed fitting. It added character to the shuttle. Spinn closed the shuttle door behind her. “Just find a seat.” He told her before he sat down at the controls. Emma thanked him again and made her way past the occupied seats. Many of the crewmembers were talking to each other and Emma greeted some familiar faces as she passed. All the way in the back she found an empty seat by the window.

As she sat down the engines roared to life. She could hear Spinn checking in with the board computer and contacting flight control for further instructions. The flight to the Falcon would only take a couple of minutes since space dock was right next to the space station. Emma leaned over to her window to see if she could catch a glimpse of the space dock, but it was nowhere in sight. Instead she had a gorgeous view of Earth. She smiled to herself. It didn’t matter how many other amazing planets she saw, Earth would always be the most beautiful.

As the shuttle started moving Emma did her best to catch a last glimpse of home before it went out of view. For a while she only saw stars. Finally space dock came into view. “For anyone interested, we’re approaching space dock. If you look at your right you should have a pretty good view of the Falcon.” Spinn called over his shoulder. The voices went quiet as everybody turned their attention to the windows. Emma suppressed the urge to press her nose against the cool glass.

It was just as pretty as anybody had said it would be. There was a certain sense of peace to the ship as it just sat there. The Falcon wasn’t as big as most other ships going on similar missions. Captain Dolch had told her the Falcon had been build years ago to test whether smaller exploration vessels would be more efficient. Emma guessed it wasn’t, seeing the newer ships were all bigger.

“USS Falcon, this is shuttle one requesting permission to land.” Spinn sounded a little bored but Emma didn’t really pay any attention to him. Now that they came closer she could see a team of engineers working on the hull of the ship. She found herself briefly wondering whether Mick would be amongst them but quickly dismissed the thought. As Chief Engineer he probably had better things to do.

“Shuttle one, you have permission to land.” The shuttle turned and for a while the stars were all Emma saw through her window. When she straightened her back a little she could catch a glimpse of the front viewing screen. The shuttle was approaching the open doors of the Falcon’s shuttle bay. She looked out of her window again. That was going to be all she would see for a while, lots and lots of stars, slowly moving away from her. She could think of worse things.

The landing was so smooth Emma barely noticed the shuttle had set down at all. Spinn turned around to face his passengers. “Welcome aboard.” He said as he got up to open the shuttle doors. Emma got to her feet and gathered her things. Her adventure was about to begin. 

Star Trek Falcon Episode 101.1 Spread your wings

Title: Star Trek Falcon – Episode one: Spread your wings

Rating: Fiction K+

Chapter: 1 of 10

Summary:

Captain Danielle Dolch has just received her first command, the newly upgraded USS Falcon. While the last few updates and tests are being conducted she and her crew arrive at the space doc for their mission of exploration near the Neutral zone.

Disclaimer: The Star Trek universe belongs to paramount pictures, I’m just borrowing it and using it as a playground.

Author Note:

This is really just a hobby project that I work on because I like doing it. It is based on a story that I wrote almost 10 years ago. Characters and plotline have been improved and I promise that this time around, I will do a spelling and grammar check.

Chapter one - The appearance of favoritism

There was an uncomfortable silence. Nervously Danielle pulled on the sleeve of her uniform. At first she had been unsure whether this whole thing was a good idea. After all, people were going to say Mick only had gotten the position she had just offered him because he was her brother, or that she had only offered him the job because she didn’t want him to end up on a war vessel patrolling the Neutral Zone, which had been everything but neutral lately.

On the other hand, she couldn’t think of anybody more qualified for the job, even though she had given it some serious thought. “So, what do you say?” She didn’t bother to try to smile, he would see right through her anyway.

“You want me as your Chief Engineer?” Mick paused for a moment. “Are you sure that’s even going to work? No offence but aren’t we kind of familiar and stuff? I can’t say I can see myself following your orders.”

He clearly had the same concerns she had. She couldn’t help but to smile now. “Can’t you just see past the fact that I’m your sister?”

“Do pigs fly?”

“Depends, do they have wings?”

He smiled back at her. “Unlikely, but not impossible.” Slowly the smile faded from his face. She let him think for a moment. She couldn’t expect him to immediately say yes to something she had spent weeks thinking about before reaching her final conclusion. She wanted the best, and if that just happened to be her brother that didn’t change a thing. She still found herself unwilling to settle for second best. “Who did you have in mind for the rest of your senior staff?”

She handed him the data pad that had been sitting on the table the whole time. He picked it up and started reading while he took a sip of his coffee. “That’s actually a pretty impressive list you got there.” He said as he looked up. “But why the hell haven’t you selected a science officer. This is a mission of exploration right?”

“I had selected Lieutenant Turek, but he declined. He had also been offered a spot at a research facility that he found, I quote, ‘quite challenging’.”

Mick rolled his eyes. “Am I out of line saying that the pointy eared idiot actually did you a favor saying no?” She gave him a look and he smiled. “Aw, come on, you know I’m right here.”

“And you still wonder why I made it to starship captain and you didn’t?”

He took another sip of his coffee and laid down the pad. “I never said I did, politics just aren’t my thing I guess.” He paused as he glanced back at the pad. “Aren’t you going to request another science officer?”

She sighed. “No, I don’t know anybody else who stands out in the field. Any random officer will do as far as I’m concerned.”

“You want a suggestion?” He leaned back into his chair.

She gave him a questioning look. “Since when do you even know any science officers?”

He shrugged. “I worked with her on my last assignment. She’s sort of young but I think she really has potential.” He paused and studied her face. “You like potential right?”

She picked up the pad from the table. “What’s her name?”

“Ensign Emma Zinck.” He replied and she entered the name in the database. As the file loaded on the pad her attention was drawn to the picture of the ensign in question. Emma Zinck turned out to be quite handsome with her long blond hair, bright blue eyes and wide smile. As a matter of fact, she exactly fitted Mick’s taste in women.

She threw her brother a look. “Are you sure you don’t just like her to be a part of the decor?” She asked before taking another good look at the picture.

“Just read her file. If that doesn’t convince you I don’t know what will. It’s better than mine for crying out loud.”

“It’s not like that’s impressive.” Danielle mumbled as she quickly scanned the file. It wasn’t bad, far from actually. It wasn’t the best she had come across selecting a science officer, but overall it was better than average. Ensign Zinck had not only been accepted into Starfleet academy at her first application, but also managed to graduate in the top ten of her class four years later. She was inexperienced though, ensign Zinck had never been assigned to a starship before. Her previous assignments were mostly temporary assignments on outposts or star bases. Which only left her with one question, “Where did you meet her anyway? Wasn’t your last assignment on the USS something?”

“The USS Unicorn. Yeah, I was. I met Emma when the outpost she was assigned to needed our assistance. It was some sort of engineering problem I won’t bore you with. I was part of the away team.”

“So you two are on a first name basis?”

He rolled his eyes. “That’s what you got from what I just said?”

There was a silence. “I don’t know Mick. This might not be a good idea.”

“How is this not a good idea?”

“This might not be a good idea because you obviously have a personal connection to ensign Zinck.” Danielle felt as if she couldn’t stress the word not enough in this sentence.

Mick threw her a skeptic look. “So? It’s not like you are avoiding the appearance of favoritism seeing the fact that you asked me as your Chief Engineer. I don’t see the problem.” He paused for a moment to study his sister’s face. “You wanted the best right? Well, this is it.”

Danielle sighed. She knew her brother was stubborn. It had been one of many reasons why he never made it to command, but she knew he wasn’t stupid and having to spell everything out to him was becoming somewhat tiresome. “It’s a problem Mick, because I already asked you. One staff member I can explain using the term ‘coincidence’, but for some reason, that doesn’t work the second time around.”

“You’re talented, I’m sure you’ll find a way to explain.”

He smiled at her as she shook her head. “Flattery will get you nowhere Mick. So what will it be?” She put down the pad on the table as she looked at her brother. He leaned towards her a little.

“I’ll be your Chief Engineer if ensign Zinck will be your Science Officer.” He got out of his chair and looked down at his sister. “Let me know when you’ve figured it out okay?” Without saying another word, he walked off.

Danielle cursed herself. He hadn’t set foot on the ship, or even accepted his new position as Chief Engineer, but he had already done exactly what she had been afraid he’d do. She rubbed her forehead and glanced over at the pad on the table. How bad could it be really?

Getting up Danielle checked her coffee cup, it was empty. She got her coat of the back of the chair and picked up her pad and the empty cup. While she walked off to her next meeting she made a mental note to at least make her brother sweat for a couple of days before letting him know she accepted his terms.